Diabetes is one of lifestyle-related diseases with the background of change of eating habit and lack of exercise. Hence, diet and exercise therapies are performed in patients with diabetes. Furthermore, when its sufficient control and continuous performance are difficult, drug treatment is simultaneously performed. Now, biguanides, sulfonylureas and agents for reducing insulin resistance have been employed as antidiabetic agents. However, biguanides and sulfonylureas show occasionally adverse effects such as lactic acidosis and hypoglysemia, respectively. In a case of using agents for reducing insulin resistance, adverse effects such as edema occasionally are observed, and it is also concerned for advancing obesity. Therefore, in order to solve these problems, it has been desired to develop antidiabetic agents having a new mechanism.
In recent years, development of new type antidiabetic agents has been progressing, which promote urinary glucose excretion and lower blood glucose level by preventing excess glucose reabsorption at the kidney (J. Clin. Invest., Vol. 79, pp. 1510–1515 (1987)). In addition, it is reported that SGLT2 (Na+/glucose cotransporter 2) is present in the S1 segment of the kidney's proximal tubule and participates mainly in reabsorption of glucose filtrated through glomerular (J. Clin. Invest., Vol. 93, pp. 397–404 (1994)). Accordingly, inhibiting a human SGLT2 activity prevents reabsorption of excess glucose at the kidney, subsequently promotes excreting excess glucose though the urine, and normalizes blood glucose level. Therefore, fast development of antidiabetic agents, which have a potent inhibitory activity in human SGLT2 and have a new mechanism, has been desired. Furthermore, since such agents promote the excretion of excess glucose though the urine and consequently the glucose accumulation in the body is decreased, they are also expected to have a preventing effect on obesity.